


Tomorrow I'll Be Gone

by HeartonFire



Series: Save Tonight [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Dogs, Druids, F/M, Familiars, Fluff, Goblins, Hunter Dean, Hunter Sam, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Dean, Magic, Memory Loss, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Oral Sex, Possessive Dean, Sex in a Car, Sex in the Impala, Shower Sex, Smut, Unhappy Ending, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 21:25:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12374391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartonFire/pseuds/HeartonFire
Summary: The Winchesters are hunting an obscure creature with their new hunting buddy and her dog. Everything's going great, but can Dean get his happy ending?





	Tomorrow I'll Be Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to those of you who commented on the last part! This is the third and (at least for now) final part of this story. The creature they're hunting is a real thing from Slovenian folklore, but I added a few things to its powers, since there wasn't much about it that I could find, and I had an idea I wanted to run with. Enjoy!

Callie woke in the backseat of the Impala, jolted by an unexpected bump in the road. She sat up, rolling her neck to get the crick out of it. Aidan lifted his head, blinking sleepily up at her. She patted his fluffy gray head, and he settled back down, curling into a surprisingly small ball, considering his size.

“You okay back there?” Dean said, glancing back at the movement.

“Yeah, though my spine would beg to differ,” she said, groaning at the ache.

Dean laughed, turning back to the road and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He hummed along with the song playing through the stereo and Callie closed her eyes, sinking back into the worn leather seat.

“Where are we, anyway?” she mumbled, yawning.

“Just outside Peoria, I think,” Dean said. “Couple hours to go.”

“And what are we hunting again?”

“Not sure yet,” he said, chuckling. “You get some more sleep and we’ll figure it out when we get there.”

She woke again as they rumbled into a bumpy parking lot under a flickering neon sign. Stretching, she climbed out of the car, Aidan following close behind. Sam strode into the office like he owned the place, overriding all the desk clerk’s concerns about the wolf-dog that was going to be staying with them with a few extra dollars for his trouble.

Honestly, it had been kind of nice, these last several weeks, having Callie along, and Aidan was easily the most well-behaved dog Dean had ever seen. He didn’t even need a leash. He just followed Callie around like a shadow and stayed in the motel when they couldn’t bring him along.

They filed into yet another dingy-looking room, two double beds somehow already looking rumpled before they even got inside.

Aidan leaped onto the nearest bed, head resting on his massive paws and eyes following Callie wherever she went. Dean sank down on the creaky bed beside the dog and scratched him behind the ears. Aidan shifted and uncurled his body, moving over to sit at Sam’s feet. Dean could have sworn the dog glared at him and he sighed. Why did that dog like his brother so much better than him?

Callie sat down beside him, running her fingers up and down his spine. He could feel the smile on her face before he even turned to look at her.

“What?” he said, trying and failing to sound menacing.

She collapsed into giggles and he heard Sam’s bark of a laugh too, as Aidan climbed into bed with him and curled up with his head in Sam’s lap like a huge, furry pillow. Dean grumbled playfully, poking at Callie’s sides until she was crying with laughter.

“I’m going to hit the shower,” he said, smiling despite himself.

The water washed away the grit and grime of their last hunt, along with the grease from their late-night run to a diner. He scrubbed at his hair, trying to get out the last flecks of blood that were still matting it in the back. He didn’t even hear the door open, but flinched at the motion of the shower curtain.

“Need some help?” Callie asked, eyes bright with mischief. Dean swallowed hard and stepped aside, watching her shed her sweaty, bloody clothes and climb in beside him.

“More efficient this way anyway,” he grunted, as her hands traced his muscles, leaving tingling trails in their wake.

“Sure is.” She leaned up and kissed him, and it was like a dam broke. He fisted his fingers in her hair and slammed her against the wall, drawing a gasp from her throat as he kissed her, hard and demanding, tongue sliding into her mouth before she had a chance to breathe.

He leaned away from her, considering his options and she smiled at him, tilting her head a little as she studied him.

“You look awfully tense, Dean,” she said, voice a little raspy, fingers trailing down his chest. “Can I help you with that?”

His eyes flared and he nodded, jaw clenched. He released her hair and she slid down to her knees, eyes locked on him, despite the water hitting her face. Dean groaned and leaned against the wall as she took him into her mouth, circling the head with her tongue and moaning, which sent vibrations through his body that made him clench his fist against the wet tile. His other hand fell to her head and she picked up the pace, using her hands and the slickness of the water to work him towards the edge.

When he felt his climax building, he tugged gently on her hair and she looked up at him, lips red and swollen, and he pulled her up to stand against him, kissing her again and again, the steam and heat of the shower just making him want her more. He lifted her, hands under her strong thighs, and turned to hold her against the wall, lining up with her entrance.

He held there for a moment, staring into those deep, brown eyes for permission, and she nodded, biting her lip. He slid inside and she gasped, eyes closing as she clung to his back so hard he was sure he was going to have scratches. If he thought sex with her was good before, he had no idea what he was missing. The sensation of skin on skin made his eyes roll back in his head and he had to go slow, or he was going to explode instantly.

“Fuck me, Dean” she whispered into his ear and he bit her neck, making her moan again. He kissed her to muffle the sound and pulled out almost all the way before easing back in. He built his speed until he couldn’t even tell where she ended and he began. He could feel her shuddering around him, and he shifted his arms so he could reach down and press on that spot she liked, circling her clit until she tensed and bit his shoulder, choking down a scream.

The pain, mixed with everything else, pushed him to his climax, and he sank against her, breathing hard. She put down her shaking legs and kissed his shoulder where she had bitten it.

“Sorry,” she murmured.

“Sweetheart, don’t ever apologize for that.” She smiled and he pressed his lips to hers again. “Now, why don’t we get cleaned up?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Where’s Sam?” Dean asked, watching Callie towel her hair dry.

“He said he was going to go get something to eat.” She cleared her throat. “He said he’d be gone a while.”

“Well, then I guess we have some time to kill,” he said, grinning wickedly at her and pulling her towards him to kiss her neck.

“I think we used most of our time already,” she said, extricating herself from him and wrapping a towel around herself before heading back out into the room.

“You sure?” he asked, putting on his best puppy dog eyes. Sam was better at them, but it was worth a shot.

“Get dressed, Winchester,” she said, tossing a shirt at him. He caught it and grinned.

“Alright, calm down, tiger.” She looked up at his new nickname for her and blushed a little. “You hungry?” he asked her, and she shrugged, though he could hear her stomach grumbling from across the room. “Hey, is that my shirt?”

“What, you want it back?” she asked, raising her eyebrows and going to take it off.

“Oh, honey, if you do that, we’re never going to get anywhere,” he said, grinning again. “Though, that might not be such a bad thing.” She laughed, pulling on a pair of jeans and boots. “Did Sammy say where he was going?”

Callie shrugged. “There can’t be much around here.”

“Then let’s go exploring,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out to the car.

Sure enough, there was only one place to eat that was open past six, and they found Sam easily, chewing on a piece of lettuce and staring at something on his laptop in a nearly deserted diner.

“Mind if we crash the party?” Dean said, leaning over his brother’s shoulder. Sam jumped a little, but waved his hands at the booth around him.

“Actually, you have great timing. I just found something interesting.” Dean raised his eyebrows. “Four deaths in the last month. And a guy whose arm shriveled up during a meteor shower, he says.”

“Shriveled arm?” Callie said, eyes narrowing.

“Yeah. And even weirder, a couple of kids have started acting weird.”

Callie looked thoughtful. “Any ideas?”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Not really. I’ve been looking at changelings and demons, but there’s nothing that ties all of this together.”

“Could be more than one baddie,” Dean said, wracking his brain.

“This might be a longshot,” Callie said, looking from Sam to Dean. “But I took an Eastern European folklore class in college and we learned about something that sounds an awful lot like this.”

“You remember what it was called?” Sam asked, eyes bright with interest.

“Skropnik? Skopnik? Something like that. It’s like a goblin, but what you’re saying sounds familiar. Especially the meteor thing.”

Sam typed it into the search engine and his eyebrows rose. “Nice work, Callie,” he said. “A skopnik looks like a meteor when it falls and it has all these weird powers.” He let out a breath. “It makes sense why it’s here.”

“It does?” Dean said, staring at the two of them.

“Yeah. There’s a pretty sizable Slovenian population here, and guess where the skopnik comes from.”

Dean sighed. “Slovenia? That’s a pretty long way to go to get to Wisconsin.”

“Does it say how they appear?” Callie asked, eyes far away as she spoke.

Sam shook his head. “There’s only like, one page in one book on them. It also doesn’t say how to kill them.”

The waitress finally came over and Dean smiled up at her. “Can we have two more minutes?” he asked. She smiled at him and nodded, leaving to wipe down the counter.

“So, we don’t know how it got here or how to kill it, but at least now we know what it is. Probably.”

Callie still looked thoughtful. “Let me see if I can find out some more about it.”

“How?”

“I still have my TA’s phone number from that class. I think he still lives around here,” she said, glancing at her menu before standing up to go outside. “I’ll give him a call and see what he knows. Order me a plate of eggs and bacon with wheat toast?” she said, kissing Dean’s cheek.

“Sure,” he said, staring after her.

“Do you know what you’d like to order?” the waitress chirped and Dean forced himself to smile at her.

“Eggs and bacon with wheat toast for her, and a stack of your finest blueberry pancakes for me,” he said. “And two coffees, please.”

“Sure thing, sugar.” She turned to Sam. “You need anything else, honey?” He shook his head and she scurried away.

Dean stared out the window, where Callie was still chatting with her TA. She was laughing and he felt an unpleasant curl of jealousy unfurl in his chest.

She came back in a few moments later, still smiling. “He said he’ll meet us at the university tomorrow morning. I told him we were writing a book about cultural myths and he’s pretty excited about it.”

“Yeah, I bet he is,” Dean said, almost growling.

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, the three of them waited on a hard bench outside the library, holding cups of coffee. Dean kept checking his watch until Callie laid a hand on his arm.

“Dean, you need to chill.”

“Dude is almost late. I’m just saying.”

Sam choked back a laugh and he saw Callie roll her eyes, squeezing his wrist. She took a sip of her coffee and smiled, looking at a man who was approaching, carrying a messenger bag and waving at them.

“Eric!” Callie said, standing to give him a hug. “This is Sam and Dean. They’re my, uh, writing partners.”

“Nice to meet you,” Eric said, tilting his head to them. He was a little disheveled, like he didn’t exactly know how to take care of himself, but his bag was bulging with papers and books, so maybe he had something that could help them. “Shall we?”

He held his hand out and let Callie go in front of him. Dean noticed his eyes tracing over her body and he fought down the urge to punch this guy in the back of the head. At least until after he gave them whatever info he had.

Callie led them to an isolated corner of the library and helped Eric lay out his papers. There were drawings, maps, and all kinds of documents on these things, but none of them made any sense to Dean.

“Are these in Polish?” he asked, straining to recognize the language.

“Slovenian,” Eric said, pointing at one of the papers. “This is one of the earliest stories about skopniks. Thirteenth century. They’re nasty little things, to be honest with you. What do you want to know?”

“Where do they come from?” Sam asked, leaning in to look at the papers, though Dean knew he didn’t speak Slovenian either.

“No one really knows,” Eric said, mumbling some of the words on the paper. “They supposedly fall from the sky and they do all kinds of things: steal children and replace them with changelings, kill people, erase memories, shrivel your arm if you point at them, all that good stuff.”

Dean picked up one of the pictures. “They’re like goblins, or something?”

“Yeah,” Eric said, nodding. “They’re all over Eastern European culture. Any time something back goes wrong, there’s a little goblin or demon for that.”

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. Callie was scanning one of the documents, lips moving silently.

“You speak Slovenian?” Dean asked, staring at her.

She looked up, blushing a little. “Not well,” she admitted. “Just some fragments from class. I like to look at things in the original language when I can.” Dean’s eyebrows rose and she buried her face in the paper again. “It doesn’t say anything about how to kill them.”

Eric blinked at her. “Is that important?”

Callie’s blush deepened, so Dean jumped in. “We just like to be as thorough as possible in our research.”

“Well, this is one case where there just isn’t a lot of information. They fall from the sky and kill people, but then they just disappear. I haven’t found anything about killing them. People were usually too scared of them to do anything, I guess.”

Callie was still staring at the paper, working through the translation. “It says something here about people keeping silver in the house to protect against them.”

Eric shrugged. “I think that was more of a class thing, but yeah, I guess that’s part of it. You need anything else? I can let you make copies of some of this stuff, if you want.”

“That would be great, thanks!” Callie said, smiling at him. He looked down, fumbling with the papers.

“Sure thing. Want me to show you where the copier is?”

Dean bit back what he wanted to say, and watched Callie go off with Eric into the stacks to copy the relevant pages. Sam stared at him, an amused smile on his face.

“You okay, buddy?”

“Shut up,” Dean said, staring at the spot where Callie and Eric disappeared. “I just don’t like this guy.”

“And it had nothing to do with how obviously into Callie he is, right?” He could hear the smirk in Sam’s voice without even looking at his big, dumb face.

Finally, when Dean was about ready to jump out of his chair, they reappeared, carrying even more papers. Callie smiled at him, handing the stack of papers to Sam, who put them in his bag with his laptop.

“You all up for getting a drink later?” Eric asked, smiling hopefully at Callie.

Dean was about to say that no, they needed to get back on the road, but before he could, Callie spoke up. “Sure. We’d love that.”

“We do have some things to take care of today, though,” Dean said pointedly, and she nodded.

“Well, then I guess just text me when you’re ready,” Eric said cheerfully, waving goodbye.

“I really don’t like that guy,” Dean grumbled, under his breath.

 

* * *

 

 

They headed back to the motel room, Sam getting on his laptop and Callie staring at the copies in her hands. Dean paced, not sure what to do.

“How do we find this thing?” he demanded, after a while.

“I think I have an idea,” Callie said, but her voice was a little shaky. Dean and Sam looked at her, curious. “I know you guys aren’t really into magic and all that, but there’s a spell in one of my grandmother’s books that could help us find this thing.” She paused, chewing her lip. “This document says they’re made of fire, and I can use a spell to find fire demons.”

“What kind of spell?” Sam asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“I just need some of my herbs, a map, and a lighter and I think I can make it work.”

“And what will it do?” Sam said, glancing at Dean.

“It should show us his location.”

“I don’t know about this,” Dean said quietly, scratching the back of his neck.

“If it helps us find the thing, why not?” Callie said, staring angrily at him.

“Well, we haven’t had the best of luck with magic, is all.” He couldn’t look at her, but he could feel the rage pouring off her. “And, if we wait until another one lands, we might not get there in time.”

“I’m just trying to help,” she said, scowling. Aidan stood up from where he had been lying in the corner and a low growl rumbled out of his throat.

“I know. I just,” he sputtered. “I want us to be careful. I want you to be careful.”

“Well, according to this,” Sam said, pointing at whatever he was reading on the Internet, “it’s not going to come out until tomorrow. They cycle through every fourth day until they burn out, and it’s only been three days since the last attack. They kind of just disappear after they attack, and then show up again a few days later.”

“Any pattern to where the attacks are happening?” Dean asked, trying to get away from the whole magic thing.

“Look at this,” Sam said, turning the screen to face them.

“Is that,” Dean started.

“A pentagram?” Callie finished.

“Four points of a five-pointed star,” Sam said, nodding.

“So, that means this one should fall right about there,” Dean said, poking at the screen.

“If the pattern stays the way it is.”

“Good.”

“Good?” Callie said, whipping around to face him. “What, good that I don’t have to use my powers to be helpful?” Aidan padded over to stand beside her and she laid a hand on his head, silencing the growls that vibrated through him.

“No,” Dean said, holding up his hands in surrender. “Good that now we know where it’s going to happen.” Callie scoffed and sat down on the bed. Dean sat beside her, taking her hand. “I know your powers aren’t bad, sweetheart,” he said. “And I love having you on the team. It doesn’t hurt to have someone who knows Slovenian.” Callie laughed a little, looking up at him through her long eyelashes, eyes still wary. “I just don’t want you to have to use your powers when you don’t need to.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, Dean. But admit it. You’re not wild about witchcraft.”

“That’s not exactly a secret,” he said, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

“But you have to realize, my spells aren’t about demons or anything. They’re tied to the elements. Nature.”

“I know, I’m trying.”

She sighed. “Okay. I’m going to take Aidan for a walk and then we’ll talk strategy, yeah?”

She disappeared through the door, wolf trotting at her heels and Dean leaned back against the pillows, letting out a long breath.

“You want to talk about it?” Sam asked, and Dean heard the smirk in his voice again.

“No. Shut up.”

 

* * *

 

 

Dean was not exactly thrilled about postponing the hunt to the next day, especially when it meant they had time to meet up with Eric the TA for a drink. He especially didn’t like that Callie put on a cute little dress and flats to go to the bar.

Eric was already there when they arrived, waving enthusiastically when he saw them. Dean watched his eyes rove over Callie’s body again and he was tempted to punch him until he couldn’t open them anymore.

“I’ll get the first round,” he announced, heading for the bar. Dean sat down and Callie sat across from him, tapping her fingers on the table.

“I remember this bar,” she said, smiling. “We used to come here all the time in college.”

“Oh, yeah?” Dean said. “And did Eric come with you? Buy you all kinds of drinks?”

Callie looked at him sideways. “No. I meant I came here with my friends. What’s with you?”

Before he could respond, Eric was back, carrying three beers. He passed them out, sitting down beside Callie and smiling at her.

“So, what have you been up to since graduation?” he asked, as though she was the only one at the table.

“Oh, you know,” Callie said, “I’ve been teaching. On summer break right now.”

“Well, you look great. You still living in the area, or just road tripping?”

“Just a road trip with these guys,” she said, nodding at Sam and Dean. “How’s the dissertation coming?”

“Good,” he said, but he didn’t quite meet her eyes. Dean watched him carefully as he took a gulp of his beer.

“Still working on translating the stories?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Finished that a while ago. Interpreting them is the real challenge now.”

“And what is it you study, exactly?” Dean asked, eyes narrowing at this guy.

“Language and its development in folklore,” he said, but he wouldn’t meet Dean’s eyes either.

“What, like fairy tales and stuff?”

Eric shrugged, taking another swallow of beer. “Sort of. More like occult legends, that kind of thing.”

Sam nudged Dean, but he didn’t need it. “You’re into the occult?” This white bread, mushy little grad student was into witchcraft?

“No,” he said, sloshing a little beer onto his shirt, eyes wide. “I just think the myths and legends are interesting.”

Figures. Dean drained his beer, trying not to lose his shit when Eric touched Callie’s arm or laughed too hard at something she said. She didn’t seem to notice, talking animatedly to him like there was nothing weird about it.

“I’m so glad you called me,” he mumbled, after several more beers. He leaned towards Callie and Dean saw red. Before he could get out of his seat, though, Callie had pushed him away, hard.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, eyes flashing.

“I’m sorry,” Eric muttered, blushing hard and blinking so fast Dean was afraid his eyelashes would fall off. “I’m so sorry, Callie.”

“Why don’t you head home?” Dean said, pulling him up by his collar and pushing him towards the door, taking his seat beside Callie and putting an arm around her. “You probably want to sleep this off.”

He mumbled something and took Dean’s advice, heading for the door, still apologizing in a quavering voice.

Dean pulled Callie in to kiss him and she giggled. “What was that for?”

“You’re the best, you know that?” he said, kissing her again, harder this time. Sam cleared his throat.

“I think that’s my cue to leave,” he said, tapping his empty glass. “I’ll see you back at the motel.”

Dean grinned after him, taking Callie’s face in his hands and kissing her a third time, pressing her against the back of the booth. She moaned into his mouth and he ran his hands through her hair.

“Want to get out of here?”

“Sam’s in the room,” she said, eyebrows raised.

“I have an idea,” he said, and she licked her lips. “Follow me.”

He led her down the street until they reached the motel. She looked at him skeptically, until he pulled out the Impala keys.

“Get in,” he growled. He drove them to a deserted strip of road and turned to her. “Backseat.”

They both climbed out and back into the car, grasping each other like they weren’t going to see each other again. He kissed her, soft hair between his fingers, and she groaned when his teeth nipped at her lower lip.

“This dress is really something,” he said, pushing it up an inch at a time and loving the moans that erupted out of her as his hands pressed further upward. “No wonder that guy couldn’t help himself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“Yeah,” he said, nipping at the skin on her thighs. “Right.”

“Dean, please,” Callie whimpered. “I need you.”

He growled again and pulled off her panties, unbuttoning his jeans. Usually, he’d take his time, but what she wanted, she got. And he could see from the wetness of her panties that she didn’t really need him to do much more.

He pulled her up to kiss him and she straddled his legs, guiding him to her entrance. He could feel her heat and lifted his hips as she sank down onto him. He moaned out a curse, and then she started to move, circling her hips against him and throwing her head back. He still couldn’t get over the sensation of her skin against his, and he never wanted it to end.

“Dean,” she cried, clawing at his skin again, and he could feel her walls pulsing around him. She ground against him and he didn’t even have to touch her before she was exploding around him, gasping his name.

Her walls clenched and he couldn’t hold out, tumbling over the edge alongside her, face buried in her shoulder as she collapsed onto him. Both breathing hard, they didn’t move for a moment, savoring the feeling of being connected to each other.

When they were finally able to catch their breaths, they untangled their limbs and drove back to the motel, falling asleep wrapped around each other to the sound of Sam’s quiet snores and Aidan’s sleep-growls.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean woke to a dark motel room. Blinking, he wasn’t sure what had woken him until he heard a strangled sob escape from Callie.

“No, please,” she whimpered, head thrashing back and forth on the pillow. “Please.”

“Callie,” Dean murmured, sitting up and stroking her hair. “Wake up, sweetheart.”

“No, please,” she cried again, eyes jolting open. She was breathing hard and it took her a moment to remember where she was.

“Nightmare?” Dean asked, and she nodded, nuzzling into his hand. Aidan was by her side in a moment, and she pet his head. He curled up on the floor beside her, eyes appearing to glow in the dim light from the alarm clock.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, wiping a tear out of her eye.

“Hey,” Dean said, kissing her cheek gently and pulling her against him, head on his chest. “I’m here to help. I know how bad the nightmares can get.”

“You’re the best,” she whispered, wrapping an arm around him and closing her eyes again.

He kissed the top of her head, running his fingers down her back and wishing he could take the bad dreams away. She had been struggling since her brother died, especially at night. When they were hunting or researching, it was like she could let go a little, but she had been having the nightmares almost every night since she started traveling with them.

He woke again to a bright room and an empty bed. He heard the shower running and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Sam was clicking away on his laptop, and Dean could see Aidan lying in front of the bathroom door.

“Ready to hunt?” Sam asked, glancing at his brother.

“Oh, yeah,” Dean said, pulling on a pair of jeans and a shirt. Whatever these things were, he was definitely ready to take them out and get the hell out of here. The more distance they put between themselves and Eric the nerd, the better.

They stopped at the diner again to eat a good breakfast, and then headed out to the spot where the skopnik was due to land. It was an empty field outside of town, and it really didn’t look like anything.

“Now, we wait.”

“Did you find anything about when they fall?”

Sam shook his head. “They look like meteors, but meteor showers can happen for days sometimes.”

“So, we just wait for something to hit the ground?”

“Pretty much,” Sam said, settling into his seat.

Dean was already feeling antsy after several days without a hunt, but sitting and watching an empty field was definitely not his favorite thing, even on a good day. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and jiggled his leg until Sam shot him a look that said he was getting a silver knife to the throat if he didn’t stop.

He was about to suggest doing a sweep of the field when he heard a thump and saw a bright flash, right in the middle of the field.

“Let’s do this,” Sam said, unfolding his large frame to head towards the light, sweeping around to try to get around behind it. Callie and Aidan followed and Dean brought up the rear, gun in hand and knife tucked away in his pocket. As they approached, he saw the figure of the goblin. Its body was charred and smoking, and it didn’t seem to be moving.

And then, suddenly, it was streaking across the field, heading straight for Callie.

“Get down!” Dean shouted and Callie threw herself to the side, crouching with her knife in hand. Aidan jumped in front of her, baring his teeth at the creature. It stopped, tilting its head as it considered the wolf. It stretched out a hand and Dean saw Callie’s eyes close as she fell limp to the ground, just as Sam managed to close in and slit the thing’s throat. It screamed and collapsed into a pile of ash.

“Callie!” Dean called, racing to her side. Sam was already there, throwing his knife to the side and pulling Aidan away from her. Dean sank to his knees, holding Callie in his lap. He could see her chest rising and falling, but her eyes stayed closed. Aidan whimpered, nudging her face with his muzzle, but she still didn’t wake.

“We need to get her to a hospital,” Sam said quietly and Dean nodded. He stood, lifting her unconscious form in his arms and heading back to the Impala.

When they got to the hospital, the doctors rushed Callie away, sending Dean and Sam to sit in the waiting room while they tried to get Callie to wake up. Dean paced, staring up at a clock that seemed like it wasn’t moving, while they waited for any news.

Finally, when he thought his head was going to explode, the doors from the ER opened.

“Mr. Abbott? Mr. Cassidy?” a doctor said, hands in her pockets.

“How is she?” Dean said, rushing towards the doctor.

“She’ll be okay,” the doctor said. “Physically, she’s fine.”

Dean swallowed. “What does that mean?”

“You can go in and see her now. Just go easy.” And then she disappeared back through the swinging doors.

“What does that mean?” Dean asked again, whirling around to Sam.

“Let’s just go see her.” He looked like he was trying to figure something out, but Dean was too worried about Callie to ask him about it again.

Dean hurried down the hall, finding her bed. Callie was sitting up, a crease in her forehead as she stared at them.

“You’re okay?” Dean demanded, trying to take her hand.

She pulled her hand away, staring at him. “Who are you?”

Dean’s face fell. Sam cleared his throat. “We found you,” he said, glancing at his brother.

“Oh. Thanks.” Her face relaxed. “Do you know where we are?”

“Milwaukee,” Sam said.

Dean stared at her, pain clawing its way up to his throat at the look of confusion on her face. “Do you remember anything?” he asked quietly.

Callie shrugged, shaking her head. “I just woke up here. I don’t even live in Wisconsin anymore. I’m from Boston.”

Sam nodded, smiling weakly at her. “Is there anyone you can call?”

“My aunt and uncle, I guess” she said, blinking at him thoughtfully. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”

“We’ll leave you be, then,” Sam said. “Glad you’re okay.”

He put a hand on Dean’s shoulder and guided him out of the room.

“What the hell happened?” Dean asked, when they were safely outside. “Why doesn’t she remember us?”

Sam sighed. “It’s one of the skopnik’s powers. It can wipe memories from people.”

“Is there a way to reverse it?” he demanded, unlocking the car and climbing in.

“I don’t know of any,” Sam admitted. “There’s hardly even anything about killing the thing. I don’t know if anyone has ever tried to reverse it before.” He paused, eyes on the floor. “Maybe it’s for the best. She wasn’t going to be able to stick around forever, Dean. This way, she gets to go back to her life and not worry about this stuff anymore.”

Dean grunted a reply and turned, expecting to see Aidan in the backseat, but the dog was gone. It was like he had never been there at all, aside from a few stray hairs on the black leather.

 

* * *

 

 

“You’re sure?” Dean asked, staring at Sam a few months later. “There’s definitely a case in Boston?”

“We don’t have to take it,” Sam said, shrugging.

“You said there’s kids being taken?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, looks like a shifter might be back up there.”

Dean sighed. “Then I guess we’re headed to Boston.” He turned the car onto the highway and took a deep breath.

Sure enough, there was a shifter stealing kids from their beds, trying to use them to steal from their parents. They took care of it easily, calling the cops to bring the missing kids home, and heading back out on the road to find a motel.

If Dean happened to take the car out after Sam was asleep and drive down to the bar, that was no big deal. If he kept his eyes glued on the door, hoping a dark-haired woman would come in, that was nothing out of the ordinary. And if, after turning down several women who offered him their company, he drove down the street and parked outside a familiar apartment building, who needed to know?

He stared up at her window, breath catching in his throat when he saw her, working in the kitchen. She tossed a piece of something into the air, and he saw Aidan jump to catch it. She rubbed his furry head and smiled.

Dean smiled too, a little sadly. “Goodbye, Callie,” he whispered, putting the car in drive and heading back to the motel. Sam was right. It was for the best.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave any comments you have!


End file.
